Study indicates brain injuries among college football players

A study by researchers at the Cleveland Clinic indicated that long-term brain injuries may occur even without the presence of a concussion.(Photo: Matt Slocum, AP)

A study completed by researchers at the Cleveland Clinic found that college football players may experience significant and long-term brain damage due to hits to the head even when they do not suffer a concussion.

The study, which was published in the online medical journal PLOS One, took blood samples from and administered brain scans and cognitive tests to 67 college football players before and after games during the 2011 season as a way to gauge brain trauma even without the clear presence of a concussion.

The results of the research indicated that the 40 players who had absorbed the hardest hits – measured by film review and postgame interviews – had "elevated levels of an antibody linked to brain damage," as Paul Tullis writes in Businessweek.

Researchers then had these same players undergo a series of brains scans, which in turn revealed the same abnormalities suggested by the presence of the antibodies.

The results of the study could shake up the perception that concussions are the primary culprit behind long-term brain injuries suffered by college and professional football players. No player in the study suffered a concussion; nonetheless, 40 of the 67 players profiled sustained the sort of hits to the head to mimic the results of a concussion-related brain injury.

Leagues like the NFL have focused on concussions as the primary cause of injuries like chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a brain disease that causes dementia and depression and has been found in many former professional players.

"We have shown that elevations of serum S100B," which the study proves is a sign of a disruption of blood flowing to the brain, "occur in football players who experience sub-concussive head hits below the threshold for a diagnosis of concussion," the study reads.

"Our results suggest that these levels of S100B trigger production of auto-antibodies that may constitute a risk factor for premature neurodegeneration."

Nicola Marchi, a professor of molecular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic and one of the co-authors of the study, told Tullis that their findings may ultimately provide a way to profile players who may be in danger of brain injuries due to multiple sub-concussive hits.

"This positive correlation could be an early indicator of a pathological process that, with time, could perturb players' brain health," Marchi said. "All football players have repeated sub-concussive hits throughout the game, the season, and their careers."

Outside of carefully reviewing film or speaking one-on-one with players, however, these sub-concussive hits are difficult (if not impossible) to measure. According to Marchi, the blood, brain and cognitive tests used in the study can offer an "early warning system" to players and medical personnel.